POV: MENMA
Splash!
I jolted awake as ice water hit me like a frigid slap, snapping me out of sleep. Disoriented, I jumped to the edge of my bed, my heart racing.
Whoosh!
A kunai zipped past, so close it grazed a strand of hair. Reacting instinctively, I teleported to the corner of the room, just as the blade embedded itself in the wall.
"Morning, savior." Shisui's familiar drawl came from my bed. He lounged there, cross-legged, a smug grin plastered across his face. His white kimono gleamed, pristine except for the bandages wrapped tightly around his left arm.
"Shisui!" I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "It's five in the morning! Are you crazy?"
"Madara Uchiha won't care about your beauty sleep, Menma." He rose smoothly, his smirk widening. "Training ground three. Fifteen minutes. Don't keep me waiting."
And with that, he vanished into the shadows, leaving behind only the echo of his laughter.
Muttering under my breath about arrogant Uchihas, I grabbed a fresh set of clothes and stumbled toward the shower. The icy water jolted me fully awake, washing away the remnants of sleep as my thoughts wandered.
It had been four years since i jumped us to the moon. Four years of grueling training under Shisui, who was both a relentless mentor and an unbearable tease. My body had grown stronger, my skills sharper—but the scars of survival ran deeper than I cared to admit.
Dressed in a black shirt, sweatpants, and my trusty shinobi trainers, I stepped into the chill of the lunar dawn. I secured my weapon pouch to my thigh, took a steadying breath, and teleported into the sky. The moon's surface blurred beneath me as I traveled, the familiar pull of my power folding the world around me.
I teleported into the sky a few kilometers above the ground, free falling for a few seconds before *jumping* to the training ground.
I landed on Training Ground Three, a desolate plateau bathed in pale light. The earth hung in the sky like a distant gem, its glow illuminating the jagged terrain.
Toneri was already there, seated cross-legged in meditation. His blindfold—pristine white like the rest of his attire—covered the hollow remnants of his eyes. Despite his calm demeanor, his presence radiated quiet intensity, a reminder of how far he'd come since that day.
"Good morning, Namikaze," he said, his voice serene without looking in my direction.
I frowned. "I'll never get used to that."
He smirked faintly, rising with fluid grace. "Did you think my blindness would hinder me? Your teleportation creates a vortex of sound and wind. You're as subtle as a hurricane."
After looking at him a few memories came to my mind.
*Flashback *
Shisui and I had been searching the castle for days, suspicious of Toneri's absence. When we finally found him, the sight chilled me to my core.
He sat in a circle of bloodstained stone, his eyes hollow and bleeding, his white kimono soaked with crimson. Despite the gruesome scene, he was calm, meditating as if his pain didn't exist.
"You're here," he'd said, his voice devoid of emotion.
"What happened?" Shisui demanded. "Explain. Now."
Toneri rose slowly, tying a green blindfold over his mutilated eyes. "You're persistent, Uchiha. Very well."
His voice was steady as he told us of his clan's fall.
"Long before my birth, the Ōtsutsuki moon clan was prosperous—a flourishing civilization tasked with guarding the Earth. Our greatest treasure was the Tenseigan, an energy vessel containing the chakra of our ancestor. It was our light, our legacy—but it came at a cost."
He paused, his hands tightening into fists. "To sustain the Tenseigan, my clan sacrificed their Byakugan, sealing their eyes into the vessel. It was a small price to protect our duty: containing the Gedo Statue, imprisoned deep within the moon."
I shivered at the mention of the statue.
"Over time, greed and pride corrupted us. The branch families rebelled, triggering a civil war that ravaged our people. The main family clung to the Tenseigan's power, while the branch families sought freedom from its burden and duty of protecting the earth entrusted to us by our ancestor. By the time the bloodshed ended, our numbers had dwindled to near extinction."
Toneri's expression darkened. "But that wasn't the end. After the war, the statue's power began to leak. An illness spread among us, draining our life force. Then one of your own stole what we were entrusted to jail for eternity. But even with the statue's absence the illness persisted. My father tried to save us, but his experiments only delayed the inevitable. Now, we are all that remains."
Flashback end.
I was brought out of memory lane as he lunged at me.
Toneri moved faster than I could blink. His palm shot toward my chest, a classic Gentle Fist strike. I teleported just in time, reappearing behind him, kunai in hand. He twisted sharply, intercepting my blade's holder with his forearm. The force of the block vibrated through my arm.
"Predictable," he said, pivoting to sweep my legs.
I teleported mid-air, hurling a handful of shuriken as I landed. He deflected them effortlessly, the blades clattering harmlessly to the ground.
"Your movements are reckless," he said, advancing with a flurry of strikes. "You rely on teleportation to compensate for strategy."
I grit my teeth, evading his blows by a hair's breath while countering with my own.
I jumped a few meters away just as Toneri closed the gap, his palm glowing faintly with chakra. I teleported, narrowly avoiding the strike, and reappeared mid-air. Drawing an explosive tag, I hurled it at him, hoping to catch him off guard.
He raised a chakra barrier, absorbing the explosion with ease. The shockwave staggered him slightly, but he recovered almost instantly.
"Good," he said, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "You're learning."
I grinned despite my exhaustion. "You're not invincible, Toneri."
"Neither are you."
He advanced again, his strikes relentless. I teleported repeatedly, trying to create an opening. Finally, I feinted to his left, then jumped to his right, landing a solid chakra enhanced kick to his ribs. He stumbled back, surprise flickering across his face.
"Not bad," he admitted, catching his breath.
But before I could press the advantage, he countered with a sweeping kick that knocked me off balance. I hit the ground hard, and before I could teleport away, he pinned me down, his knee digging into my chest.
"Yield?" he asked, his voice calm.
I struggled, my chakra reserves nearly depleted and slight headache. With a frustrated growl, I admitted defeat. "Fine! I yield." I can't believe I was still losing to a kid.
Toneri rose, offering me a hand. I ignored it, standing on my own. Despite the ache in my body, I felt a flicker of pride. I was getting stronger.
"You've improved," he said, his tone almost kind. "But you still have much to learn."
I smirked. "So do you."
He chuckled, turning toward the horizon. "Come. Shisui changed the training ground , and I'm sure he'll be far less forgiving than I am."
As we walked , I glanced at Toneri's blindfolded face. His calm masked the pain of his past, but I could see the weight he carried. His clan's destruction wasn't just a tragedy—it was a warning.
It was one of the driving points that made him want to destroy the earth in the anime.
The silence between Toneri and me stretched as we approached training ground 7 where Shisui was waiting for us. Despite the ache in my muscles, my mind churned with anticipation. Shisui never held back during training—and "creative" was putting it lightly when it came to his methods.
As we reached the training grounds, Shisui was already waiting for us. He stood in the center of the dusty clearing, his posture casual yet impossibly sharp. His white kimono fluttered in the breeze, and his bandaged arm hung loosely by his side. His dark eyes gleamed with mischief as he saw us approach.
"You're late," he drawled, spinning a kunai lazily in his hand.
Toneri inclined his head slightly. "Apologies. Menma needed a lesson in humility."
Shisui chuckled. "He's not wrong, Menma. I can feel your chakra fluctuations from here—you're still burning from the spar. Good. You'll need that fire for what's next."
I crossed my arms, ignoring the smug look Toneri threw my way. "What sadistic challenge do you have for us today, Shisui?"
Shisui grinned—a dangerous, wolfish grin. "Simple. Survive."
Before I could question him, Shisui threw the kunai in his hand with terrifying speed. I jumped instinctively, teleporting a few meters back, but the blade curved mid-air, heading straight for me. I barely deflected it with my own kunai when I felt a rush of wind behind me.
I spun around just as Shisui appeared out of nowhere, his hand crackling with a faint spark of lightning chakra. I teleported, but he was too fast. His fingers brushed my shoulder, and pain shot through my body as the chakra dispersed.
I stumbled forward, gasping as i reappearing a few metres away. "What the hell?!"
"Lesson one," Shisui said, vanishing and reappearing on a nearby rock. "Speed and deception. Toneri, you're up."
Toneri didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, his strikes fluid and precise, but Shisui countered each one effortlessly. He moved like water, deflecting Toneri's palms and redirecting his momentum with minimal effort.
"You're too rigid," Shisui said, spinning Toneri by the wrist and tossing him to the ground. "Flexibility is key. Adapt to your opponent."
Toneri sprang to his feet, blindfold still in place. "Understood." His tone was calm, but his chakra spiked, signaling his determination. He charged again, his movements more unpredictable this time, but Shisui evaded them all, his smirk never faltering. I was cheering in my heart silently as I watched the white haired bastard's face get dragged on the ground.
"Menma, don't just stand there!" Shisui barked, his eyes flicking to me. "Teamwork. Now!"
I hesitated, then teleported to Toneri's side. We exchanged a brief glance as he got up before I nodded. He attacked from the front, his strikes deliberate and controlled, while I circled behind Shisui, preparing a kunai laced with an explosive tag.
"Nice try," Shisui said, catching Toneri's wrist mid-strike. Without breaking a sweat, he twisted Toneri's arm and threw him toward me. I teleported out of the way as Toneri landed in a heap rolling on the ground a few times.
"You're making this too easy." Shisui sighed, the disappointment in his voice stinging.
Shisui suddenly activated his Sharingan, a crimson tomoe spinning ominously. My stomach dropped.
"Here's the deal," Shisui said, tossing a kunai into the air and catching it by the blade. "You have until this kunai hits the ground to land a single strike on me. Work together, use your brains, do whatever it takes. But if you fail—" His grin widened. "You'll regret it."
I exchanged a glance with Toneri, whose blindfold shifted slightly as he adjusted it. His chakra spiked again, this time sharper, more focused.
"Ready?" Shisui asked, tossing the kunai high into the air.
The moment it left his hand, Toneri and I sprang into action.
Toneri led the charge, his strikes faster and more erratic than before. Shisui dodged with practiced ease, weaving through the onslaught like a leaf in the wind. I stayed back, observing their movements, my mind racing.
Think, Menma. He wants you to come at him directly, but that's exactly what he's expecting.
I teleported behind Shisui, feinting with a kunai strike to his back. As predicted, he countered effortlessly, twisting to grab my wrist. But it was a decoy. I teleported again, this time dropping to the ground and planting an explosive tag at his feet.
The tag detonated, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris. For a moment, I thought we had him.
But as the smoke cleared, Shisui stood unharmed, his Sharingan glowing. "Better," he said, brushing dust off his sleeve. "But not good enough."
"Now!" Toneri shouted, his voice cutting through my frustration.
I turned just in time to see Toneri launch himself into the air, his chakra surging around him in a visible aura. Shisui smirked, readying to counter, but I teleported again, intercepting his line of sight with a flurry of shuriken.
Distracted for a fraction of a second, Shisui's movements slowed just enough for Toneri to strike. His palm grazed Shisui's shoulder, the contact brief but undeniable.
I decided to try something i had been planning . I jumped a kilometre away and started jumping back in small distances to gather enough kinetic energy. By the tenth jump I teleported infront of Shisui the force hitting him sending him a few feet behind and cracking the ground we stood on.
The kunai hit the ground with a soft thunk.
Shisui blinked, his Sharingan fading as he glanced at his shoulder. A small smile played on his lips. "Not bad," he said, rubbing the spot where Toneri had landed his hit as he dusted off the remaing dust on his body from my attack. "You're finally learning to work together. Keep this up, and you might survive a real fight."
I collapsed to the ground, panting. Toneri knelt beside me, his blindfold slightly askew. "That was… exhausting."
Shisui chuckled, tossing the kunai into the air one last time. "Good. You'll need that exhaustion. Because tomorrow, we're doing it all over again. But for the rest of the day, we are doing my personal favourite …weight training."
I groaned, already dreading what fresh hell Shisui had planned for us next.
But despite the ache in my body and the exhaustion weighing me down, a small spark of pride burned in my chest. We'd survived Shisui's training.
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